132 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



most of its features, tliat it intimately resembles no other uitli which I am 

 acquaint'sd. It may he well, however, to notice the points of difference be- 

 tween it and P. utajor which is the most nearly allied species. There is but 

 little difference in size between the two birds, creatopus being only slightly 

 smaller, and the color of the upper parts is about the same in each. Creatopus 

 may be at once recognized as follows : by its much shorter, stouter bill, usu- 

 ally turgid and thick at the base, with its very short swollen nasal tubes, and 

 light flesh-color, except along the culmen and unguis; by its shorter, slen- 

 derer flesh- colored feet ; by its entirely brownish-black upper tail coverts ; by 

 the extension of the dark color of the sides of the head and neck, far round on 

 the chin and throat without any distinct line of demarcation ; by the absence of 

 any white at the bases of the primaries, and by the unusual amount of gray- 

 ish-black mottling on the sides, the under surfaces of the wings, the axillary 

 feathers, and circumanal region. 



The shape of the bill is more like that of the common Atlantic Kuldii ; and 

 the nasal tubes are quite as short. But the bill of creatopus is much stouter, 

 •wider and more turgid at the base, and the unguis is much more rapidly de- 

 curved. The color is quite different, (compare descriptions.) The legs of 

 cinereus are yellow ; of creatopus light flesh-color. The differences in plum- 

 age are too obvious to require comparison ; e. g. cinereus has pure white 

 under tail coverts ; creatopus brownish-black, etc. 



I have been unable to find any description which can be considered as in- 

 dicative of this species, which I believe to be hitherto quite unknown. It is 

 exceedingly interesting, from its many peculiarities of form and color. It is 

 particularly to be noted, that it is the only "bicolor " species, that is, dark 

 colored above and mostly white beneath, which has flesh-colored legs ; this 

 coloration of the legs being liitherto only known to its extent among the fuligi- 

 nous species composing the subgenus Nectris. 



The type and only known specimen of the species was taken by Dr. J. G. 

 Cooper, at San Nicholas Island, off' the coast of California. Its precise range 

 of habitat is as yet unknown. Accompanying the si^ecimen was a note from 

 Dr. Cooper,, stating that it was a species unknown to him and probably new, 

 and suggesting, inthe latter event, the exceedingly appropriate name by which 

 I have designated it. 



PuFFiNtJS MAJOR Faber. 



Procellaria pvffinus, Kuhl, Monog. Proc. Beit. Zool, 1823, p. 14i5, pi. xi, fig. 

 10 ; et auct. al. aliq.; sed non Linn., Gmel., Lath., quae Pu^ff'- anr/lorum 

 Ray; nee Temm. quae Proc. cinerea Cuv. {Kuhlii Boie.) 

 Puffiaus major, Faber, Prod. Isl. Orn. 1822, p. 56. Bp. Consp. Av. 1856, 

 ii. p. 203. — Lawrence, Birds N. A. 1858, p. 833. — Procellaria major, 

 Schlegel, Mon. Proc. Mus. Pays-Bas, 1862, p. 27. — Ardenna major, 

 Reichenbach, Svst. av. t. xiv, fig. 770. 

 Paffinus cinereus, JBonap. Syn. Bds. N. A. 1828, p. 370, No. 311. Audub. 

 Birds Amer. 1844, vii. p. 212, pi. 456 ; et al. script. Americ ; sed non 

 Gmel. 

 Habitat. — Atlantic Ocean, especially its northern and temperate portion. 

 Mediterranean Sea. Atlantic coast of Africa. Cape of Good Hope. Terra 

 delFuego. Not the Pacific Ocean ? 



Sijnoni/mij. — This species has been presented under a variety of designa- 

 tions. Some authors liave thought with Kuhl, that it is the one referred to 

 by Linnaeus, Gmelin and Latham, nnder the name of Procellaria piiffinus. Else- 

 where, liowever, I have proven, I think, that such is not the case, but that 

 I\ puffi'nis, Linn., is a synonym of P. amjlorum Ray. 



The Procellaria puffinus of Temmiuck (loc. cit.) is not this species, nor yet 

 the anejlorum (although he presents it as the real Linnaean P. puffinus;) but 

 on the contrary, it is tlie P. Kuhlii, Boie, as is evident from the description and 

 the synonyms quoted. I am quite at a loss however, to discover upon what 



[April, 



